Back In Wiesbaden

No matter the joy of a holiday, you always get back to two things. 1. A huge pile of Washing and 2. A huge pile of payment receipts - assuming that you have bothered to keep them - the evidence of money you have changed into experiences. Often the bits of paper are the only memory of the experiences at all.

In my case, it has been four, 7kg loads of washing that have taken two days to get through. I even used the drier as I did not have the hanging space, in the apartment, to get everything dry. Never fear, once the washing is dry I have the ironing to look forward to. The same ironing that I had to do before I went on holiday. At least I have plenty of recorded TV programmes to watch while I iron. This is now that the cable TV receiver has been replaced. The current incumbent seems to be working a bit better than the previous one, although it did only start recording 30 minutes into two of the programmes.

As to the money spent. I always try and keep all the receipts for my spending and then capture them into an Excel spreadsheet. I know most people do not bother to keep detailed records of their spending. It is usually those with lots of disposal income and those with none that seem to be least concerned about how much they spend. I know that it takes a while to capture all the expenses, but at the end, I know exactly how much I have spend and more importantly on what. Yes, I do have a Budget and Expense Codes. Not because I am the best accountant, but rather an Excellent Administrator. Often in the past, I have got the two confused, which has caused me untold misery. Well, the holiday spending has been captured and I know how much I spent on Belgium Beer and Parking.

As part of most holiday rituals people buy postcards that they never seem to send. This is often because they do not know where the nearest post office is, or they are too busy while on holilday. Or the postage is more than than the cost of the postcard. Well, I do try and send the postcards that I buy. Yes, in the age of social media, Facebook and WhatsAP people send instant photos. I tend to be a bit of a traditionalist and still send Christmas cards and postcards and even birthday cards. As I see it, an email is not the same as a birthday card, it never will be. The point is, it needs to be a bit of an effort to remember friends and family. So I had to dash off to the post-office here in Wiesbaden this morning to get the postcards out before it becomes too late. So now my postcards from Brussels been posted with German stamps. The true meaning of the European Union, or European Integration at least. I would of course never dream of sending a British postcard with German stamp or a German postcard with a British stamp. That is totally unthinkable. Just like the UK joining the Euro Zone. The world will literally END, or for the City of London at least, which is THE WORLD.

I treated myself, to what I consider the best sandwhich in Wiesbaden earlier today. Just to remind me that I am no longer in Brussels and to celebrate getting through my four loads of washing.

View from my Sandwich 1 - Not in Brussels anymore

View from my Sandwich 2

Best Little Sandwich in Wiesbaden.